HGTV’s Jenny Marrs Shares Touching Excerpt From New Book

Jenny Marrs is giving fans a look at an excerpt from her new book, “Trust God, Love People.” See what the HGTV star wrote about their family facing a big adjustment with one of their kids.

Jenny Marrs’ New Book Recounts Early Days of Daughter’s Adoption

Marrs recently celebrated the 11th anniversary of daughter Sylvie joining their family. On July 10, the HGTV star took to Instagram to thank fans and give them a peek at her book.

“Thank you all for graciously allowing me to ‘celebrate & remember’ yesterday and for all of the love you shared with our family,” she wrote in the caption. “I thought I’d share a small excerpt today from my new book (launching into the world on Oct 7th!) about the days following that joyful celebration.”

Marrs continued, “Because, adoption is beautiful but it’s rooted in brokenness, loss and trauma. Our family has had a front row seat to God’s redeeming and refining power for eleven years now. It’s the greatest honor and privilege to be an adoptive momma and I can’t wait to share the whole story (and so many more) with you all this fall!”

In her book, Marrs writes, “Torn from every familiar thing and placed into our family, my daughter experienced persistent grief and debilitating fear on the day she landed in America. That day, the one I had desperately waited for, for 602 seemingly endless days, was mistakenly seen by outsiders as exclusively celebratory. I cringe at the headlines, scarcely able to skim the surface of her raw, tender identity. AN ORPHAN NO LONGER! A ‘RESCUED’ CHILD!”

“Although her circumstances were bleak in her home country, it was all she had known. Her first two years of life were marked by survival instincts, extreme hunger, and abandonment,” Marrs continued. “Yet the terror of new people, new sounds, new smells, new food, and a new language was vivid in those early months under our roof.”

The HGTV star noted, “While the battle to get her home was grueling, the real spiritual war had just begun. As a family, we willingly stepped into her brokenness and committed to remain steadfast as we faced the darkness together. We firmly believed that redemption was coming, and restoration was at hand.”

Jenny Marrs Reveals ‘Profound Truth’ Sylvie Told Her

They weathered the storm as a family and Marrs explained how their faith played a role in those early days.

“I continued to pray, ‘Jesus, be near.’ And I continued to marvel at His sufficient grace doled out each day. God’s love poured through us and allowed us to hold on even when our home felt like a trauma ward,” she wrote. “Even when the brokenness threatened to overwhelm, we could stand firm on His promises of redemption and restoration.”

Marrs also shared a touching moment with Sylvie. “Three hundred and sixty-five days after she landed on U.S. soil, as we lay side by side singing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ before bedtime, Sylvie turned to me and shared a profound truth in her soft, raspy little voice. She whispered in the dark, ‘God never left me, Momma. He carried me home,'” she wrote.